This is my 11th year at Southern Cross Schools. It certainly has flown by and I often cannot believe that it has been this long.
I was working at a school in Durban before I moved to Southern Cross Schools. A past collogue, and friend of mine, had always kept me in the loop about possible positions at Southern Cross Schools. It had just been a matter of time before I was able to be a part of the ethos that Southern Cross Schools centres itself around.
What drew me to the school consists of a few things. I wanted a quieter life for myself, I wanted to be in the bush and I love teaching – so Southern Cross Schools was the perfect place for me.
What keeps me here? Where do I even begin? Every day I wake up and am excited to go to work. I love working with the children that we have and probably most importantly I have the privilege of dropping off and collecting my own children every day knowing that they are in the best, happiest and most nurturing environment that my husband and I could wish for. What keeps me here is the sheer reality that all our learners are happy and so are our staff. I don’t want to be anywhere else.
Besides the obvious of a good academic foundation - it is a school that allows children of all ages to be who they are. It allows them to stand up with quiet confidence or enthusiastic confidence – and never be judged either way. It provides a place for children to be seen, heard, and cared about. It provides a place for children to feel like they have an extended family. It is different because we are reminded every day how lucky we are to live in a beautiful place –especially when the giraffe and waterbuck watch your tennis practice.
Last year – a past pupil contacted me to ask if I was free one evening. It was one of the girls in that year’s birthday and they have a tradition that on each of their birthdays – they would have a group call. They asked me to be a part of the call.
What is special about it? It was amazing to be a part of a group of young women who met at Southern Cross Schools. Who, 4 years later still kept in touch and were still who they were when they were at Southern Cross Schools: proud, unique, powerful, successful in their own right and happy.
The memory speaks to many other memories that have added to my time at Southern Cross. From the bush babies in my classroom, to seeing a child perform on stage, to coaching hockey, to seeing a display on water and how much is used to make a pair of jeans. The memories are uncountable.
